Beguiler
To most, it means only the obvious – a charmer, a deceiver, a cheat. But, for some, it is a cold and desolate word. The Elves know them by the old name, the Velethiri, the Unseen Eyes. They are strangers, even to one another. In the most generous sense of the term, Beguilers are an order of mages and practitioners of psychic magic. Their art deals exclusively with the manipulation of the mind and their tools are your own pride, lust and fear. In theory, Beguilement magic can be divided into two schools, though Beguilers themselves typically make no such distinction. The first is Illusion, the manipulation of the senses; and the second, Enchantment, or the manipulation of emotions. There are precious few capable of one or the other without being a Beguiler. Illusion magic is met with skepticism throughout much of the world. Enchantment, on the other hand, is universally dreaded, and in most places even the capability to enchant is flatly illegal. To the Beguiler, all is in the mind’s eye, and so the two are regarded as one seamless art. Among the Beguilers’ infamous arsenal of spells are those that fool the senses, cloud the mind, honey words and simply place an idea in one’s head. They can put someone fast asleep with a glance, or just as easily cripple with pain. They are peerless liars and can change their face in a blink or make you forget they were even there. Perhaps their most terrible power is the ability to play with desires and twist emotions. The greatest Beguilers were even said to master love itself. Beguilers adhere to no code and have no fear of breaking oaths, spare those sworn over old magic. The art and philosophy is passed from master to apprentice in what is frequently a brutal, but brief tutelage. The student is forced to endure constant mental assault until the day when they learn to repel, outwit or simply overpower their master’s magic. Once you can trick another Beguiler, duping normal people is easy. A master, only recorded as Ka, kept a journal detailing his own introduction to a nameless teacher, his research, his supposed exploits and the history of the art. He describes a number of traditions that have passed on. Beguilers never train more than one student at a time, and never in their own sanctum. They are encouraged to abandon their family to keep from being used as pawns. Above all, never tell anyone what you are, nor reveal the extent of your powers. Many young Beguilers never learn what their master is truly capable of, if they remember anything of him at all. Almost certainly, Beguilers cannot stand the weak or stupid among their own numbers. Some actively hunt their kind and rid the world of incompetence before the art can be further diminished or secrets exposed. A second master, calling himself Mask composed another of the rare Velethiri texts. His or her own grimoire contains hundreds of spells and the framework for constructing many more, including some which are not only illegal by the laws of kings, but deemed forbidden among all mages. The rumored secrets of Mask are legendary and suspect, even among Beguilers. If half of the rumors are true, the contents of the spell book are as dangerous and vile as Blood Magic. At some point, Mask is likely to have possessed the Codex Maleficarum. Mask is believed to have been destroyed early in Bastion’s history, around the time of the university’s founding. Both Ka’s Journal and Mask’s Grimoire can be found in Bastion University and are well secured. One common misconception about Beguilers is that they are able of turning their victims into puppets or that people can be made to act against their character. Even Mask is considered unlikely to have had the power of domination. It would be impossible for a Beguiler to compel someone to leap off a building… though only difficult to convince someone that the building is on fire and that the street below is a river. In Bastion, practicing Enchantment magic on a human is punishable by indefinite imprisonment. Possession of texts on the subject outside of the University is punishable by twenty years in prison. Illusion magic may be studied in the university setting with licensure. Common Beguiler Spells The following spells are common uses of Illusion and Enchantment magic and are included in the Beguiler advantage. *Figment – Creates an illusory object or effect. Size, quality, complexity and number of senses affected vary with the Beguiler’s talent. Rank I: Floating lights, sparks, coins. Rank II: Animals, immobile objects. Rank III: People, complex objects. Rank IV: Crowds, environments. Rank V: Fully interactive illusory environments with responsive characters. *Glamour – Makes one thing seem like another. Small visual changes are easy. Drastically changing appearance, smell, taste and texture are difficult. Rank I: Water to tea, blue coat to red. Rank II: Water to wine, disguise self to look like another person. Rank III: Disguise self as an animal, a blank piece of paper into an official document. Rank IV: All senses fooled under close inspection, persistent for minutes after casting. Rank V: Glamour is nearly permanent. *Fascinate – Makes a real object or figment fascinating, dominating someone’s attention. Rank I: One person plays with, inspects or covets an item. Rank II: Multiple people intrigued. Rank III: Crowds held in rapt attention. Rank IV: Cause intense desire to possess object. Rank V: Permanently enchant an item so that its bearer feels ill at ease without it. *Obscure – The opposite of Fascinate. This spell renders an object unremarkable and causes it to lapse from attention. Rank I: Obscures a held or worn object. Rank II: Enable the caster to be ignored as long as he avoids conscious or intrusive actions. Rank III: Large objects seem inconsequential, caster could walk past guards, into a restricted area, without question. Rank IV: Most things go unnoticed unless hostile. Rank V: Join the queen for dinner, assumed to be a guest *Puzzle – Causes text to become indecipherable by unintended readers. The use of an object escapes the user. Swords become unwieldy, keys are fumbled, text seems illegible or foreign. *Slumber – Draws the target into a deep sleep, usually with gentle humming or a repeated gesture. Rank I: Single target, normal sleep. Rank II: Multiple targets, only roused by loud noises or being shaken. Rank III: Several targets, undisturbed unless violently shaken. Rank IV: Crowds, may not rise for days. Rank V: All who hear or see the spell, may sleep until roused by magic or potions. *Overwhelm – A mental knockout that renders the target unconscious for minutes or hours. Cast through eye contact or upon viewing a sigil. *Suggest – A spoken phrase is taken as true and targets react accordingly. “It’s a bit chilly, isn’t it?” would result in people suddenly noticing that they feel cold. Proclaiming that a wine was an “excellent vintage” would allow a Beguiler to serve cooking wine to his guests. *Copy – As Figment, but easier since a present, real object is merely copied instead of pulled from the imagination. *Mimic – Allows the caster to reproduce voices or noises once studied. *Echo – By drawing a spiral in the air, a Beguiler can produce sounds and songs from memory. The length of the spiral determines the duration of the echo and can be used as a timer. *Eyebite – This unsubtle spell cause the Beguiler to vanish from sight for several seconds and leaves the victim dizzy, pained and frightened. Requires eye contact. *Vertigo – Renders the target immobile as the world seems to whirl around them. *Nauseate – Incapacitates the target with sudden and violent sickness. *Pain – Simple and brutal, this spell can cause agonizing headaches. *Pleasure – Causes feelings of comfort and warmth to euphoria and ecstasy. *Chill – Produces the feeling of a discomforting chill to enervating cold. *Scorch – Causes the target to feel uncomfortably warm or regard held or worn objects as scalding. *Soothe – A calming spell to reduce anxiety. *Charm/Rapture – The caster becomes more amiable or completely delightful. *Daunt/Terror – The caster seems more capable and intimidating, or dark and terrible. *Stir/Vigor – Inspires listeners and instantly boosts morale. *Anger/Fury – Causes the target to loathe someone or something or to incite wrath against it. Rare Beguiler Spells The following spells are sometimes known to Beguilers, but not included as part of the Beguiler advantage owing to their unusual effects. *Lock/Unlock – Manipulates mundane locks at a distance. *Trespass – Eludes magical detection and scrying. *Retrocognition – Gleans past memories and emotions from an object or place. *Telepathy – Mental communication and the ability to listen to surface thoughts. *Seek Memory – View memories of target. *Alter Memory – Erase or change old memories. Implant new ones. *Share Dream – Enter and manipulate the target’s dream. *Trauma – Induces lasting crippling phobia. *Rictus Grin – Target is agonized, but dies silently within seconds with a maddened look on their face. Requires eye contact. *Dirge – All who hear this tune are overcome with grief and despair. Weak targets are heartbroken and die quickly. *Trap Mind – Target’s mind can no longer control the body, but continues to feel and see everything the body experiences. Permanent.